MAKING PRICING OF CURRENTLY FREE HIGHWAY LANES ACCEPTABLE TO THE PUBLIC

This article discusses value pricing (VP), also called congestion or peak-period pricing, which entails assessing relatively higher prices for travel during periods of peak demand. In metropolitan areas, VP holds great promise as a means of reducing highway congestion and emissions and increasing economic efficiency with a relatively small public investment in infrastructure. VP applications being implemented or proposed for implementation in the U.S. usually involve new freeway traffic lanes, or converting existing freeway high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes into toll lanes. However, few new freeway lanes are being constructed in urban areas. The market could be expanded significantly if metropolitan areas could convert existing freeway lanes to toll lanes. The public, though, is not likely to readily embrace this idea. The author proposes an innovative concept, called And Intertwined Regular (FAIR) Lanes that would overcome these objections. FAIR lanes would involve separating currently free, freeway lanes, using plastic pylons and striping, into 2 sections: Fast and Regular lanes. Fast lanes would be electronically-tolled lanes, where tolls are set in real time to limit traffic to the free-flowing maximum, while Regular lanes would remain toll-free, where constricted flow would continue. The further intricacies and benefits of FAIR Lanes, including those circumstances where their use would be advantageous to highway, freeway, or urban transportation, are discussed.